JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 14,521 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 161.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,500 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,521 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.28% of Esquire Financial worth $1,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ESQ. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 36.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the third quarter worth $151,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ESQ. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Activity

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total transaction of $237,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at $291,509.45. This represents a 44.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rena Nigam acquired 640 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $77.50 per share, for a total transaction of $49,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $144,692.50. The trade was a 52.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ traded down $3.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $82.27. 89,958 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 77,711. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.48. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.45 and a 1-year high of $90.00. The firm has a market cap of $684.49 million, a P/E ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 0.73.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 31.38%. As a group, research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.07%.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Esquire Bank, National Association that provides commercial banking products and services to legal industry and small businesses, and commercial and retail customers in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, money market, and time deposits, as well as certificates of deposit.